Netflix 's new hit Adolescence, which has already earned the status of the spring's most important series, explores the impact of toxic masculinity on society. The authors of Boiling Point – Stephen Graham and Phil Barantini – have created an unbiased crime drama in which the crisis of male identity is inextricably linked to the topics of teenage violence, cyberbullying and sex education.What Is Adolescence About?The series is set in a quiet British suburb. The home of a hardworking husband and father, Eddie, is raided by a squad of police officers who accuse his 13-year-old son, Jamie, of murdering his classmate, Katie. The teenager is arrested, taken to the station for questioning, and then sent to a psychiatric hospital for minors. Katie's case ends up in the hands of Inspector Luke and Detective Misha, and together they go to Jamie's school to investigate further. It turns out that the boy was being bullied by his classmates.Adolescence Is Loosely Based on a Real-Life TragedyIn recent years, Stephen Graham has increasingly combined his work as an actor with his duties as a screenwriter. Adolescence is his second screenplay. The plot is based on real, notorious events. In the year 2024, a brutal attack on a children's dance school took place in the English town of Southport, in which three girls were killed. The perpetrator was a seventeen-year-old boy. But according to Graham, what happened in Southport is only one side of a serious cultural problem that has been brewing in British society for several years. And it is linked not only to growing male aggression, but also to the popularization of radical right-wing activists. The ideas of misogyny they promote become the trigger for the development of the main storyline of Adolescence.Each of the Four Episodes Was Shot in One TakeIn the context of Adolescence, it is important to talk about form as well as content. After the success of Boiling Point, Barantini, who directed all four hour-long episodes, returns to the continuous narrative form – each episode of Adolescence was shot in one take with a handheld camera. And while the film crew managed the relatively static third episode quite quickly, the dynamic fourth episode took a lot of sweating – it could only be shot on the sixteenth try.Adolescence Is an Extremely Sincere And Honest ProjectThe form helps the series seamlessly integrate a number of socially significant issues into its narrative that will be relevant not only to British society. At the same time, Adolescence never for a second slips into emotional manipulation – almost impossible in a story about children – and remains extremely honest and open to difficult conversations with anyone who is willing to listen.
